ExxonMobil reaches 120,000 barrels of oil a day

1st anniversary of oil 1st

… Gas injection system now online

After a year that saw ExxonMobil meeting its oil production target and commissioning a gas injection system that would break out a torch, the company has celebrated its first year of oil by overcoming these two obstacles.
According to the company in a statement on Sunday, Liza Destiny’s Floating Production Storage and Unloading (FPSO) ship reached its target of 120,000 barrels of oil a day (bpd) earlier this month.

For some time, Exxon has cut back on oil production in an effort to reduce gas flares because the fuel injection system is not commissioned. The shortfall of around 15,000 bpd in oil production had been a major obstacle to Guyana getting its fourth lift, originally scheduled for November and which has since been rescheduled for this month.
Now that the gas injection system has been commissioned and 120,000 bpd has been reached, the Country Manager of US oil giant Alastair Routledge praised the work done by the company to overcome the obstacles.
“We are extremely proud of our team’s tremendous work in overcoming the challenges of the past year and bringing us safely to where we are today. Routledge was quoted as saying that this resilient group, made up of a growing number of Guyanese professionals, continues to persevere through the COVID-19 initial pandemic and initial challenges to deliver a world-class project.
During their time in Guyana from 2015 to 2020, it was highlighted that Exxon spent over $ 69 billion with more than 700 local companies. The company also has more than 2100 Guyanese supporting its activities both on and offshore. The company also noted that investments will continue to increase as Liza Phase Two and its Payara projects move forward.
Liza Phase One, which is where Exxon has produced all of its oil to date, was the first oil field to be approved for the company. Liza Phase Two was approved last year and is expected to start production in 2022, while Payara was approved this year, following an extensive Field Development Plan (FDP) review and is likely to start production a year after Liza Phase Two .
According to Exxon, more than 6000 personnel have been transferred offshore with no safety alarms or COVID-19 positive outbreaks on the offshore facilities. Routledge expressed disappointment at the equipment issues they had experienced this year, but assured that normal torching will not be used.
“ExxonMobil Guyana is committed to responsible development of the country’s natural resources and will not use normal torches during our operations,” Routledge explained in the statement.
“We are disappointed with the number of equipment issues experienced and, due to these issues and COVID-19, commissioning the gas injection system took longer than originally anticipated. We took significant steps to limit torching and are incorporating lessons learned for future projects. ”
It was only on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block that Guyana, with oil giant ExxonMobil as its operator, began picking up its first million barrels of profit oil from Liza-1 well in February 2020. The oil tanker transported Cap Phillippe this lift from Liza Destiny’s Floating Production Storage and Unloading (FPSO) ship, which allows Guyana to receive its first payment next month.
That money, $ 11.4 billion, was Guyana’s first oil earnings based on revenue from Liza’s production. It was deposited in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in March this year.
Subsequently, an additional $ 7.3 billion was deposited, in addition to royalty payments. To date, Guyana has received three cargo lift payments and three royalty payments, courtesy of the Liza-1 fountain. This means that more than US $ 140 million has been deposited in the Natural Resources Fund.
However, this money has remained untouched, as the prolonged political crisis that followed the March 2 General and Regional elections damaged any attempt to establish a system for withdrawing funds. The Natural Resources Fund Act states that various committees must be established to oversee the fund. It is expected that this legislation will be reviewed by the current Government. (G3)